I caught a little snippet via Drudge which led me to a story in the WSJ indicating that the Chinese panda is beginning to flex its muscles. Apparently there are a string of tiny, and as far as I can tell, useless, islands between Taiwan and Okinawa over which Japan exercises control although 'ownership' is claimed by both Taiwan and China. A couple of weeks ago the Japanese arrested the skipper of a Chinese fishing boat for damage committed during a maritime collision. Immediately, the Chinese government began to turn an increasing number of diplomatic and commercial screws demanding not only the immediate release of the fisherman but also an apology and compensation. At first the Japanese government refused but in the last two days they buckled and released their prisoner. This has not mollified the Chinese who continue to exert pressure for an apology and cash. The Japanese press and opposition are in an uproar and the popularity of the 3-month old government has sunk out of sight.
It will be fascinating to watch over the coming years how the Japs cope with their giant neighbour. Over the decades an enormous amount of anti-American feeling has developed in Japan but an incident like this might concentrate the minds of some of their strategic thinkers. However, even if they were to realise that the only other power in the world that matches China is the USA, they are bound to ask themselves how reliable an ally she would be under the present administration, assuming, of course, that America can actually get out of the economic swamp in which it is struggling. In other words, and to murder an old expression, the Japs need to decide on which side their sushi is buttered!
In the meantime, American minds need to come to terms with the fact that the Pacific is no longer an American ocean!
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